The present invention relates, in general, to measuring and monitoring schemes and, in particular, to a new and useful method and apparatus for measuring and monitoring the performance of a patient or athlete during hydrodynamic therapy or exercise.
Hydrodynamic therapy and exercise, for patients undergoing physical therapy and athletes undergoing physical therapy has significant advantages over conventional exercise and physical therapy using conventional devices. Conventional devices are often awkward, cumbersome and complex and are not suitable for interchangeable use by men, women, and children having different physical capabilities and strengths, without extensive modification. Additionally, many of the conventional exercise devices exert an excess amount of torque and torsion (twist) on the joints of the user and are therefore not usually suitable for many types of physical therapy and exercise.
Hydrodynamic devices have been proposed for use for physical therapy and exercise in water, thereby controlling more thoroughly the torque, torsion and resistant forces which are exerted on the joints of the patient. Various arrangements for aquatic exercise assemblies have been proposed including the arrangements taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,306; 4,627,613; 4,411,422; 4,416,451; 4,521,011; 4,458,896 and 4,468,023, all of Solloway. Such hydrodynamic exercising arrangements are well-adapted for filling physical therapy needs. Unfortunately, the benefits of therapy within the water are somewhat lessened by problems relating to the inability to closely monitor the degree of exercise provided and the effect of the exercise on the patient. The use of such hydrodynamic arrangements, by repetitions or the like, does not necessarily guarantee that a specific amount of exercise has been completed (does not guarantee a predetermined amount of work has been performed) and that the exercise has been performed in the proper manner.